The present invention generally relates to a lock remote control and, more particularly, to a device for selectively releasing and latching a lock or catch at a location spaced a distance from the location where such lock or catch is positioned, which is particularly suited for use in a vehicle superstructure.
As is well known to those skilled in the art, the automobile superstructure has various locks or catches for, for example, rear compartment lid or trunk lid, side doors, engine room bonnet or hood, back door and filler lid. In modern automobile vehicles, it is not usual that both of the catches for the hood and the trunk lid can be released by a driver sitting on a driver's seat inside the vehicle superstructure without requiring the driver to approach the hood catch or the lid catch. This is possible because of the employment of a lock remote control. An example of a prior art mechanical lock remote control so far associated with the lock or catch for the trunk lid is shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 of the accompanying drawings.
Referring now to FIGS. 1 and 2, the prior art lock remote control comprises a manipulatable unit M including a pivotally supported manipulatable lever 1 installed on the floor in the automobile superstructure AS at a position laterally of the driver's seat, a flexible transmission cable 2 having one end secured to the manipulatable lever 1, and a lock assembly LA including a pivotally supported latch lever 3 installed on the rear end wall of the automobile superstructure AS, which forms a part of the wall structure defining the rear compartment or trunk together with a hingedly supported trunk lid L. As best shown in FIG. 2, the latch lever 3 has a hook 4 formed at one end thereof and is normally biased by a biasing spring 5 to a latched position, in which the hook 4 is engaged to a striker 6 carried by the trunk lid L to lock the latter in a closed position, but is pivotable against the biasing spring 5 to a release position to disengage the hook 4 from the striker 6 when the manipulatable lever 1 is pivoted from a position shown by the solid line to another position shown by the chain line.
The prior art lock remote control shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 works satisfactorily and effectively, but requires a relatively large force for the manipulatable lever 1 to be manipulated during the release of the lock assembly LA. In addition, once the manipulatable lever 1 has been moved to the position shown by the chain line to release the lock assembly LA, the driver is required to return the lever 1 to the original position shown by the solid line.
If another biasing spring is employed to urge the manipulatable lever 1 towards the original position so that, even after the manipulatable lever 1 has been moved to the position shown by the chain line, it can automatically return to the original position, the increased force sufficient to overcome the sum of the biasing force of the spring 5 and that of the spring used to bias the manipulatable lever 1 is required for the manipulatable lever 1 to be moved to the position shown by the chain line.
In order to overcome the above described disadvantages and inconveniences inherent in the mechanical lock remote control, an electric remote control has been utilized. One type of electric remote control utilizes an electrically operated motor, the rotation of which is utilized to move the latch lever from the latched position to the released position against the biasing spring. Another type of electric remote control utilizes an electrically operated solenoid unit having a plunger operatively coupled to the latch lever with or without the intervention of the flexible transmission cable.
The electric remote control is in fact effective to substantially eliminate the disadvantages and inconveniences inherent in the mechanical remote control, but involves such disadvantages that the use of expensive component parts such as motor or solenoid unit and its associated movable parts is required and that it consume an electric power and, therefore, imposes an extra load on an electric battery.